


a thread undone, a match unmade

by minium



Series: a thread undone, a match unmade [1]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, No Fujiwaras AU (Natsume), Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-07-25 02:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20024707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minium/pseuds/minium
Summary: Your soul called to meto me,to meand what else could I do,(what could I do, could I do)butanswer?





	a thread undone, a match unmade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [azurrys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/azurrys/gifts).



> Thank you so much for this crossover! It made me come back to two anime I really used to love (also, the themes present in these stories go together brilliantly). :)

_Crowds he would never be a part of, crowds he would never be welcome among_ — 

the reflection of colorful lanterns, of bright lights, reflected in his eyes; 

the echoes of laughter wracked his ears. Natsume hugged the arms around himself tighter, kept himself— _together_. 

Yet still, he couldn’t look away. He persisted in his lonesome watch, _despite the ache_. His gaze landed on a couple leaning into each other, staring adoringly, sharing a candied apple back and forth. Twisting in the depths of his stomach, a sharp pain stabbed once, stabbed twice, and turned over, adding to the hollow pit residing inside. 

A chime rang in the air. He blinked rapidly, snapping to attention, gaze shifting away from vivid hues of blues and reds dotting the lively festival below to hone in on its origin, eyes alighting on and then searching deep into lulling greens. 

And again, once more, as if to lure him, the chime sounded its bell louder, to the point of insistence. He slowly rose to a stand, dusting himself off, and warily regarded the unknown. But he knew, his resolve had been set from the start. 

Some nameless sensation, _it called out to him._

Heading down the path, he almost stumbled, the winding pattern of a seldom beaten down trail confounding his senses, and under the tread of his feet— overgrown brambles and tricky roots ready to ensnare lay in wait, adding to the treachery. The longer he walked, the farther he travelled through the unknown forest, the farther he became from anything familiar— anything _painful_. 

Eventually, the pathway led into a clearing. Of a bluff. Natsume spun his head around in shock at the precipice he had inadvertently climbed. Winds softly ruffled his hair and he moved his gaze forwards. Above anything else, what struck first, what _resounded_ — the looming moon beaming, full and beckoning. It pulled him along before awareness sank in. And as he came nearer to the source of his bewitchment, the clearer he saw. 

Somehow, despite seeing abnormal sights on a daily basis, Natsume was held entranced, his steps falling unevenly, too caught up with the display before his eyes. 

A dark figure blotted his view of the moon— _a blight on its luminous surface_. He climbed ever higher; the moon sauntered a course to the heavens and the figure was left behind. _Even so_. Rays of moonlight rained down on, embracing the figure; they basked in it, tilting their face, wishing it farewell as if a lover. 

There was something about this stranger that intrigued him. There was just. _Something._ About them. 

_And all Natsume could do was stare._

He— they were a he, Natsume could see that now— turned Natsume’s way and he bore the full brunt of piercing blue eyes— eyes that _stared straight to the soul_. He had the appearance of someone his age, but Natsume knew better than most how appearances could be deeply deceiving and something told him that the stranger was much, much older, something _unfathomable_. 

_Something he should back away from and never near again._

He ventured ever closer. 

With the way his senses sparked and then flared, running an electric course down his spine, the more certain he grew in his suspicions. The other had to be something otherworldly. 

The stranger carefully monitored his approach and the shared stare between them kept. Natsume found himself with nothing to say. And so nothing was spoken. 

Even when Natsume cleared his throat, the other remained still as a statue, an eyebrow quirked minutely his only answer. 

What to do. What to _do_. The stranger didn’t seem to be doing anything of note. And the spiritual world had been quiet lately. 

_Yet._

A spirit showing up unattached to any calamity... it was too easy— _his life was never easy_. Fierce determination to press until he got a substantial response formed in the space of a blink. 

Deep breath in; _hissing breath out_. 

“Uh… hello, I’m Natsume.” He lightly winced right after introducing himself, almost sure that his simple words came off inane. Yet the stranger finally fully turned his way, cocking his head in question or in amusement, Natsume wasn’t sure, stoic expression making guessing difficult. 

Natsume waited for something, anything. He wasn’t expecting a name, but still. Nothing came. 

Ah. _Well_. 

“Nice to meet you…” He rubbed at the back of his neck, laughing lightly; the pleasantry tasting insincere on his lips. The other’s continued silence was starting to get to him. A bitter edge tugged at his smile. 

If the stranger was human, this was going to become very awkward at the least, dangerous at the worst; there was no real polite way to inquire into someone’s humanity— _or lack thereof_. 

Yet before he could open his mouth again (and probably stick his foot in it, _again_ ), the dark-haired stranger interrupted his train of thought, regaining his attention, “...you can see me?” 

The voice rang sharply through the air, a complete contrast to his own hesitating words. The strange youkai confidentially held Natsume’s gaze, yet his question had come out genuinely disbelieving. The sudden words were a surprise and Natsume stood dumbfounded for several long moments. 

“Are you human?” The words expelled themselves through his lips without any thought, without any permission, and he promptly clutched at his mouth, impeding further speech, embarrassment painting a red hue high on his cheeks. 

A pause, where Natsume hid his burning face further into clammy hands, _and then_ — “No.” 

That answered one question; he only had a million more. 

A tugging on his senses turned his head and he met with electric blues, the youkai’s gaze always shocking in its intensity. 

Natsume greeted the near-stranger with a simple, “Oh, it’s you.” 

To his surprise, an answer— “Me.” The youkai quirked a ghost of a smile before making his way to settle beside Natsume. 

He regarded the other— not quite a stranger, not quite a friend— _~~the closest he’s ever gotten to anything~~_ — for a few moments until it became clear that nothing else would be said. A slight smile arose and Natsume refocused his gaze on quickly darkening skies, navy bleeding into plum bleeding into amber bleeding into red— gone, gone, _gone_. 

They sat in a silence that wasn’t quite companionable— 

but 

_almost_. 

A call drew him, attention snagged by something that felt very, very _familiar_. Yato approached, his steps halting, mind confused. 

A tiny spirit beckoned him and he ventured closer on instinct alone. The puff came to him as if pulled by a thread. “Oh? Do you want to be mine that badly?” 

Yato regarded it curiously for a moment before deciding. “Alright, your wish has been heard loud and clear.” 

**Author's Note:**

> FUN FACT: Natsume and Yato share a voice actor (actually, he's my favorite VA) and that was such a weird trip when I realized.  
> This will be made into a series with a multi-chapter continuation. There is still much more I want to explore about this idea.


End file.
